Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Little fire at the Smithsonian Institution does almost no harm

The Smithsonian Institution of Natural History had a small fire on Monday, Feb. 7th. The Museum of Natural History put out the fire within minutes. Deferred maintenance at the Smithsonian Institution adds up to over $ 2.5 billion, and the number is going up. They are lucky the damage was not severe because this could have possibly cost a lot more than a personal loan for the city if damages were worse. Article resource – Small fire at Smithsonian Institution does little damage by MoneyBlogNewz.

Little fire at Smithsonian Institution

The Washington D.C. fire department reported today that firefighters were called to the National Museum of Natural History. Insulation caught on fire after a spark came off of air conditioning equipment. There was not very much damage to the Natural History museum as firefighters got the fire out quickly. There was a disruption in the traffic close to the Natural History Museum. This was because in D.C., a huge plume of black smoke was seen.

Upkeep at the Smithsonian

The majority of the Smithsonian Institution is paid for by the U.S. government. It’s where funding comes from. The 2010 Deficit Commission has recommended charging admission fees to get to the Smithsonian to help defray costs. Thus far, the admission fees have not come to fruition. Instead, the Smithsonian Institution has billions of dollars of deferred maintenance tasks that are just not getting done. The upkeep that hasn't been done might be the reason why the air conditioning vent sparked a fire to the Smithsonian Institution.

Historical Smithsonian fires

The small fire was not the first to take place at the Smithsonian Institution. It has experienced others. Over the years, there have been other small fires. They have occurred at the various museums in the Smithsonian. On Jan. 24, 1865 the Smithsonian Institute (just one building at the time) had a major fire that damaged the picture gallery, lecture room, philosophical laboratory, and first story of the building. In the 1865 fire and 2011 fire, nobody was hurt. The institute was closed when both happened.